The Building Our Social Skills (BOSS) Curriculum:
Helping People with PWS Develop Communication Skills

People with Prader-Willi syndrome tell us they want to have more friends and feel less lonely. But often they find it hard to read others' emotional states and intentions and respond to everyday social overtures. The Building Our Social Skills (BOSS) curriculum was developed at Vanderbilt University as part of a grant funded by FPWR. It is a highly effective social skills intervention program for loneliness reduction in teens and young adults. 

The BOSS curriculum can help people with PWS build skills to read facial expressions, tone of voice, and nonverbal cues. It can also help people try out problem-solving strategies, make new friends in the group and in real-world settings, and focus on what they can do better. Individuals who have completed the BOSS program (and their parents) note that they are better able to initiate social interactions. At the end of the 10-week program, they improved their abilities and had fewer behavioral problems. Many program graduates remain friends with members of their group! 

If you're a parent or clinician interested in learning more about the BOSS program, you can download the Guide for Parents and Clinicians.

If you are a facilitator ready to use the BOSS curriculum, you can download the 80-page e-book to get started with the program.